Reynard vs surveys:fieldwork or a fast second opinion

    A survey collects real answers from real respondents and, done properly, carries statistical standing. A simulation does not, and no amount of framing changes that. What a simulation changes is how many times you can afford to ask.

    Side by side

    Structural differences only. Where a figure would be a guess, it is left out.

    Respondents

    Survey
    Real people you field to
    Reynard
    Simulated agents on public population data

    Fielding time

    Survey
    Days to weeks, including recruitment and cleaning
    Reynard
    A single run

    Cost per iteration

    Survey
    High enough that you field once and live with the questionnaire
    Reynard
    Per run — rewording and re-running is affordable

    Representativeness

    Survey
    As good as your sampling frame and response rate
    Reynard
    Weighted to published population data by construction, but simulated

    Statistical significance

    Survey
    Yes, when designed and powered properly
    Reynard
    No. This is not fieldwork

    Open-ended 'why'

    Survey
    Free-text answers you code afterwards
    Reynard
    Reasoning per segment, returned already grouped

    Typical use

    Survey
    The number you will publish or take to a board
    Reynard
    The check you run before you commit to writing the questionnaire

    When to pick a survey

    There are decisions where a survey is the right tool and Reynard is not. These are those decisions.

    You need a defensible number

    Anything that goes into a board pack, a press release, an investor deck or a regulatory filing needs real respondents and a real sampling method. Field the survey.

    You are measuring, not exploring

    Tracking awareness over quarters, sizing a market, benchmarking satisfaction — these are measurement jobs. A simulation has nothing to measure.

    You already have the panel

    If you own a customer list or a research panel, asking them directly is cheaper, faster and more truthful than simulating people like them.

    What Reynard gives you

    Every run returns the same shape of output, whichever market you point it at.

    • A weighted cross-section of the market rather than whoever happened to answer — the Dutch panel is built on CBS population data plus the eight Mentality value groups, the US panel on Census Bureau data plus eight value segments.
    • An acceptance score for the idea, price or campaign you submitted, broken down per segment instead of as one average.
    • Quotes per segment: the reasoning behind the score, in the words of that group, so you can see why a segment rejects something.
    • Region and segment breakdowns, so a national 'yes' does not hide a regional 'no'.
    • A downloadable report (PDF and Markdown) you can paste into a deck or a ticket.
    • A result in roughly the time it takes to read this page, at a per-run price, with a free first check and no account.

    The honest limit

    Reynard is a simulation. It is not fieldwork, it carries no statistical significance, and it cannot replace talking to a customer. Treat it as a fast, structured second opinion that tells you where to look — not as evidence.

    Keep reading

    Run the free check first

    One check costs nothing and needs no account. You see the format of the output before you decide whether it is worth paying for a full run.

    Start the free check